WHO says China has seven more cases of new H7N9 bird flu

LONDON (Reuters) - Seven more people in China have been
found to be infected with a potentially deadly new strain of
bird flu in the past week, bringing total H7N9 cases so far to
around 150, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on
Thursday.

Six of the seven people are in a critical condition in
hospitals in various parts of China and the seventh is also
hospitalised but in a stable condition. Four of the new cases of
infection are in men and three are in women, the United Nations
health agency said in an update on the disease outbreak.

H7N9 bird flu emerged in humans last year in China and has
infected around 150 people so far there and in Taiwan and Hong
Kong, killing at least 45 of them.

Experts say there is no evidence as yet of any easy or
sustained person-to person transmission of the strain.

But an early scientific analysis of probable transmission of
the new flu from person to person, published last August, gave
the strongest proof yet that the virus can at times jump between
people and so might be capable of causing a human pandemic.

A separate team of researchers in the United States said
last month that, while it is not impossible H7N9 could become
easily transmissible between people, it would need to undergo
multiple mutations to do that. Scientists around the world are
keeping a watchful eye, on alert for any sign the virus might
develop such potential.

The WHO said the source of the human infections is still
under investigation. It stressed it does not advise any special
screening for people going in and out of China, nor does it
recommend any travel or trade restrictions.